As high-profile domestic violence cases have splashed across the front pages of Massachusetts newspapers in recent years, advocates for victims and survivors say the attention paid to these cases is contributing to a shift in society’s view and handling of the problem, but a mountain of work remains to be done.

The murder of Jennifer Martel by Jared Remy last August and the killing of Wayland teenager Lauren Astley by her ex-boyfriend, Nathan Fujita, three years ago this month have demonstrated shortcomings in the legal system that handles domestic violence cases and the need to put more safeguards in place to prevent dating and domestic violence, advocates say.

A bill in conference committee on Beacon Hill, filed partly in response to the Martel murder, includes measures that advocates say they have pushing for years.

The bill contains a multitude of provisions, among them components that would define strangulation as a felony, create employment leave for victims of domestic violence to attend medical appointments, counseling or court dates, and creates a new definition for a first offense of domestic assault and battery, which carries a maximum 2 ½-year prison sentence. The legislation would also do away with "accord and satisfaction" agreements in domestic violence cases. Advocates say that the out-of-court settlements can be one-sided, with a domestic violence victim feeling intimidated into the settlement by an abuser.

With the formal legislative session ending July 31, the clock is ticking, but members of organizations pushing for domestic violence reforms say they are hoping that at least some of the provisions in the bill will make it to the governor’s desk.

"We are very hopeful for the outcome here and the difference that these measures will mean," said Toni Troop, communications director for Jane Doe Inc., a statewide coalition of smaller local organizations advocating for domestic violence victims and survivors. Troop said the provisions defining strangulation as a felony, employment leave for victims and accord and satisfaction agreements have been at the top of Jane Doe Inc.’s priority list for three years.

The policy changes, however, represent only a piece of a larger societal approach to changing the way people think about and react to domestic violence, gender issues and power structures, advocates say.

"We are a social change movement," said Troop. "Domestic and sexual violence are social ills – they are not just public safety concerns."

In some ways, Troop said, recent headline-grabbing domestic violence has changed the way many people think about domestic violence. Hearing news reports about the multitude of warning signs exhibited by Jared Remy before the murder, for example, can serve to make people more vigilant for warning signs in their own relationships or the relationships of co-workers, friends and loved ones.

The increased coverage can also have a chilling effect or make an abusive relationship worse in some cases, said Mary Gianakis, director of Framingham-based Voices Against Violence, one of about 60 community based organizations across the state offering resources and support for people in abusive relationships.

Page 2 of 3 - Gianakis said headline-grabbing cases can add to the level of fear for victims and can even serve as a way for abusers to further intimidate their partners.

"We hear from them that batterers use those kind of things to say, ‘See what happened to her? That’s what I’m going to do to you," said Gianakis. "They glom onto that."

Laura Hennessey Martins, vice president of public relations for New Hope, which serves an area stretching from Worcester to Milford to Attleboro, said that hotline workers there will often see a spike in calls after a domestic case that garners significant media attention.

Laura Van Zandt, executive director of Waltham-based REACH Beyond Domestic Violence, said the Remy case in some ways perpetuated the "monster myth" – that "domestic violence offenders are these big scary monsters that we could spot a mile away," she said. In reality, she said, batterers come in all shapes and sizes and it might be difficult to spot an abusive relationship at first glance.

On the flip side, high profile cases like the Martel and Astley murders reinforce advocates’ desires to do the work that they do.

Some of the most important work involves education and getting the word out that the local service organizations are a resource for people in abusive relationships.

Local advocates for victims of domestic abuse say they are pushing for a holistic approach when it comes to domestic violence – a community-wide response that begins with prevention education and involves educators, members of law enforcement, counselors, the medical community, faith-based groups and advocacy organizations.

It will take a cultural shift that restructures the way we think about relationships, gender roles, break-ups and self-image, said Malcolm Astley, who, along with Lauren Astley’s mother, Mary Dunne, has been a driving force pushing for dating violence education since their daughter’s murder in 2011.

Astley, speaking in an interview this week, said he has been taking on a number of initiatives, including an effort to make sure educators are able to recognize warning signs of dating violence. The state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has a set of guidelines and indicators of teen dating violence.

"We really need to get these in everybody’s hands," he said, "to be on the lookout for these potential perpetrators, mostly male, and get them the attention they need."

Astley said that a Risk Assessment Team model that brings together members of law enforcement, advocacy groups and other members has been successful in the Newburyport area at preventing domestic violence homicides. He said a similar model could be adopted in schools, perhaps under the umbrella of the anti-bullying law, that could help educators work with agencies to identify dating violence risks.

Astley also said adults need to help teenagers reframe the concept of the break-up, which he said can be one of the most traumatic events in a young person’s life, aside from the death of a loved one. Often, a person being "dumped" will take it as a devaluation of them as a person, eroding their self-confidence and leaving open the possibility that the person on the receiving end of the break-up might act out violently.

Page 3 of 3 - "We need to help young people understand – no, you were not dumped," Astley said. "The fit has to be good for both of you."

Most important, advocacy groups said, is ensuring that people who may find themselves in an abusive relationship know where to turn for help. Although the regional and statewide advocacy groups have limited resources, help is always available, said Van Zandt.

"Creating an environment where somebody realizes there is help available is an important first step," she said. "If they reach out to us or one of the other local organizations, they will find somebody on the other end who is willing to meet with them, willing to talk on the phone."

Kendall Hatch can be reached at 508-490-7453 or khatch@wickedlocal.com. Follow him on Twitter @Kendall_HatchMW.